Aaron C. Wade, who is directing Ann Arbor Civic Theatre’s production of “Now. Here. This.,” says audiences will have a lot of fun and “maybe even feel a heart string or two pluck” as well.
“This is a deeply conversational, nostalgic, whimsical, and hilarious assortment of bits, sketches and confessions,” says Wade. “It also provides a great message about simplification.”
A2CT’s Second State production will be performed March 29-31 and April 5-7 (Friday and Saturday at 8 PM, Sunday at 2 PM) at the Ann Arbor Civic Theatre Studio (322 W. Ann Street) in Ann Arbor.
“The play is about four friends taking a day out of their busy schedules to roam a natural history museum which causes each of them to reflect on the struggles in their past and how those obstacles were overcome,” Wade says. “What I appreciate about the story and presentation is how it’s simple but heavily relatable due to it being pulled from the backgrounds of the collaborators who wrote it.”
“Now. Here. This.,” is written by Hunter Bell and Susan Blackwell with music and lyrics by Jeff Bowen. The play does come with some challenges.
“The biggest challenge is finding the team to run the production; there are a lot of theatre companies in the area and a lot of the big talent has been snatched up by most shows already in production on much larger-scale productions,” Wade said.
Wade is excited about the cast and says their familiarity with each other should be a huge positive.
“The cast is extremely tight; they come from a previous Civic show ‘The Heathers’ and a lot of their chemistry together is what makes this current production so wonderful,” he said. “Everyone in the cast has very strong moments to shine. It’s their work together that is what makes this musical what it is.
“And from a social standpoint, this show is one of the very few that also treats LGBT characters as actual people with real emotions, dreams, and problems.”
Following their first Sunday performance (March 31) A2CT will have a talkback panel with the cast as well as Heather Glidden from Joy: Freedom in Motion and Lori O’Dell an empathic medium.
Tickets are $15 each and are available at www.a2ct.org/tickets or by calling 734-971-2228, or in limited quantities at the door. Seating is very limited, so advance purchase is recommended. Due to some adult themes/language, this show is recommended for audiences ages 16 and up.
More information may be found at www.a2ct.org or by calling 734-971-2228
